Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell sucked at FT's too.

Elephant in the room. 3 high ranking members of the fraternity of greatest centers in history all shared a characteristic Dwight struggles with. None of them ever mastered free throws. Not saying Dwight is on their level because he isn't, but I'm just pointing out that some of you guys are calling Dwight an idiot or a failure for not being able to make his FT's - his FT's are the least of his problems.

what was russ' %?

question for the old timers

were russell and wilt intentionally fouled a lot?

and if not why not?

Rules or dumb opposing coaches?

[QUOTE=MavsSuperFan]question for the old timers

were russell and wilt intentionally fouled a lot?

and if not why not?

Rules or dumb opposing coaches?[/QUOTE]
The rules back in Russell and Wilt's era were 2 to make 1 and 3 to make 2. Hack-a-whoever wasn't as good an idea as it would be today. Though I'm sure there are examples of it at certain times.

[QUOTE=CavaliersFTW]Elephant in the room. 3 high ranking members of the fraternity of greatest centers in history all shared a characteristic Dwight struggles with. None of them ever mastered free throws. Not saying Dwight is on their level because he isn't, but I'm just pointing out that some of you guys are calling Dwight an idiot or a failure for not being able to make his FT's - his FT's are the least of his problems.[/QUOTE]

The difference, in Shaq and Wilt's case at least, was that they were so dominant on the offensive end, that it more than compensated for their incompetence at the free throw line.

[QUOTE=CavaliersFTW]Elephant in the room. 3 high ranking members of the fraternity of greatest centers in history all shared a characteristic Dwight struggles with. None of them ever mastered free throws. Not saying Dwight is on their level because he isn't, but I'm just pointing out that some of you guys are calling Dwight an idiot or a failure for not being able to make his FT's - his FT's are the least of his problems.[/QUOTE]
This is his problem.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/FJyBfTk.png[/IMG]

Finals career FT%

Hakeem: 91/123 (74.0%)
Kareem: 229/326 (70.2%)
Russell: 319/520 (61.3%)
Shaq: 185/382 (48.4%)
Wilt: 124/331 (37.5%)

[QUOTE=CavaliersFTW]Elephant in the room. 3 high ranking members of the fraternity of greatest centers in history all shared a characteristic Dwight struggles with. None of them ever mastered free throws. Not saying Dwight is on their level because he isn't, but I'm just pointing out that some of you guys are calling Dwight an idiot or a failure for not being able to make his FT's - his FT's are the least of his problems.[/QUOTE]

WHen you lack the skills and dominance those guys did, it is your biggest problem. Shaq was not a free throw shooter. Yet he was able to impact the game so much that it negated his deficiencies at the stipe. Because Dwight does not have the skills Shaq did, free throws have become his biggest problem. Teams are abusing his weaknesses. The root is he does not have reliable offensive moves or skills, but it wouldnt even be all that big a problem if he couldnt be exploited at the free thrown line.

[QUOTE=no pun intended]This is his problem.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/FJyBfTk.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]
So the worst offensive player (by far) out of those 3 shoots the least? how is that surprising?

[QUOTE=BlackVVaves]The difference, in Shaq and Wilt's case at least, was that they were so dominant on the offensive end, that it more than compensated for their incompetence at the free throw line.[/QUOTE]

This. And in Russell's case, he didn't expect to be showcased on offense.

Didn't they have to change the ft rules for wilt?

[QUOTE=TheMilkyBarKid]Didn't they have to change the ft rules for wilt?[/QUOTE]
At Kansas as a freshman (still ineligible at the time) Wilt was witnessed 'goofing around' at one of the KU Auditoriums by Tex Winters taking off behind the FT line and dunking it. This would have been a legal way to shoot free throws at the time. Tex was chairman of NCAA basketball rules and regulations at the time, and suggested they vote on a new set of rules so that you had to release the ball from behind the line. So, Wilt never actually performed this style of shooting free throws in a real game - that is a myth. But he is the direct cause of the rule changes, which were more or less a preventative measure to ensure he [I]can't[/I] do that even if he'd wanted too.

Shaq made his FTs when it counted.

So?

If his only problem was FTs then you have a point.

But it's not. Shaq and Wilt are 10 tiers above Dwight offensively.

[QUOTE=BlackVVaves]The difference, in Shaq and Wilt's case at least, was that they were so dominant on the offensive end, that it more than compensated for their incompetence at the free throw line.[/QUOTE]

BAM!
/thread